By Adam Swift
One city councillor wants to see the Zoning Board of Appeals as an elected rather than an appointed board.
At Monday night’s meeting, Ward 3 Councillor Anthony Cogliandro introduced a motion for a home rule petition to make the ZBA an appointed board.
Several councillors said they respected what Cogliandro was hoping to achieve, but that they opposed the change.
The motion will next go before the council’s legislative affairs subcommittee before coming back to the full council for a popular vote. To become a reality, a home rule petition must be passed by a super majority of eight city councillors, approved by the mayor, and then pass through the state legislature and be signed by the governor.
At Monday night’s meeting, Cogliandro spoke about why he wasn’t to see the ZBA change to an elected body, and addressed some of the concerns he has heard about the home rule petition.
“I want to clear up some of the things I have seen in the last 24 hours in regards to this,” said Cogliandro. “There is talk that this is going to hurt developers in the city; there is also talk that this motion was put forward to take power away from the mayor. Neither one of those are true.”
Cogliandro said the ZBA has become incredibly powerful, especially over the past few years with all the development the city has seen.
“The ZBA has had 108 variance requests before them since I have been on the council, and that is in January of 2022,” he said. “Out of those 108, three were withdrawn, 10 were denied, and 95 were approved. Everything from gazebos to hundreds of units in an apartment building to splitting lots in half to build on a different lot.”
Currently, the mayor appoints the members of the ZBA and the council confirms the picks.
With elected officials, Cogliandro said more power would be in the hands of the residents and in the neighborhoods.
Cogliandro noted that he has also heard the argument that rather than changing the ZBA, the city should focus on changing zoning. But, he said all the zoning changes that have either been considered or before the council only serve to create smaller lots and more development.
“We are going to be washing each other’s windows if a lot of this stuff goes through,” Cogliandro said.
Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya said she had concerns about what an elected board would mean financially both for the city and the ZBA members.
“The position currently only pays $1,000 per year, making it highly impractical for individuals to run a campaign; an endeavor which requires time, effort, and fundraising all for a position with minimal compensation,” she said. “Transitioning to an elected board could create expectations for at least a part-time salary, imposing a financial burden on the city at a time when we are focused on funding a critical project such as the new high school.”
The change, Guarino-Sawaya said, would also strip the mayor of some of his authority and upset the balance of the municipal government.
“I strongly believe keeping the Zoning Board of Appeals an appointed body is in the best interest of the city and its residents,” she said.
Council President Marc Silvestri said he could see both sides of the issues, but ultimately, he said he believed that part of the responsibilities of the mayor is having the authority to appoint their own boards and committees.
“Taking those responsibilities away I think waters down the government and that is the reason I am against it,” said Silvestri.
Councillor-at-Large Michelle Kelley, however, said she supported the home rule petition, and that last year, she had inquired about the possibility with the city solicitor.
If the home rule petition fails, Kelley said the council should look at taking away some of the board’s authority, such as the ability to issue parking variances.
City council candidate Anthony Parziale also said he supported Cogliandro’s efforts to make the ZBA an elected board.
“I can’t see any reason why we wouldn’t let the people decide what their neighborhoods will look like,” he said. “I don’t think it’s fair that one group of unelected people get that much power to reshape our city without the people’s say.”
